HANGZHOU, China – Penn State men's swimming alum Shane Ryan won bronze in the 50-meter backstroke Friday at the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, China.
Ryan set records in all three rounds en route to Ireland's first World Championships medal, ultimately becoming the ninth-fastest performer all-time in the world with a finals time of 22.76 seconds. Russia's Evengy Rylov won the gold medal (22.58) and the USA's Ryan Murphy claimed silver (22.63).
It was Ryan's third major podium finish in an international event, as he earned bronze in the 50m backstroke at the 2018 European Championships in August and gold in the same event at the 2017 World University Games.
"I'm really, really happy with how tonight went, I know with each race I wanted to get a little bit faster and just try to get my hand on the wall," Ryan told reporters. "Tonight I'm happy I got my hand there, got a bronze medal and I'm glad that Ireland were on that podium with the flag raised."
Ryan returns to the pool Saturday for the 100m freestyle 4x50m medley relay.
A native of Havertown, Pennsylvania, Ryan holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland. His father was born in Ireland and Ryan spent the 2015-16 academic year in Ireland to establish residency there and focus on training for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ryan returned to Penn State for his senior year during 2016-17.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
A fundraiser has been launched to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte (Lenhartsville, Pa.) and her family for costs associated with her leukemia treatment. Any surplus funds will be donated to THON and the Jessie Rees Foundation to help others facing pediatric cancer. Donate at gopsu.info/nikistrong.
